Help Amitabh Bachchan’s nurse

Julie, who was a nurse for Amitabh Bachchan, when he was admitted in St
Philomena’s Hosiptal, after being injured during the shooting of Coolie, is now herself a
patient and has no money to buy her medicines. Julie (50) is suffering from
multiple sclerosis and is admitted in Lady Bowring hospital. The doctors have
prescribed five vials of methyl prednisolone (1 mg), but one vial costs Rs 900, which she cannot afford.

Julie got an attack of multiple sclerosis seven months ago, making her bed
ridden. She has got a demyelinating condition in the central nervous system, which has made her legs and left arm spastic. She can only mover her right arm, but cannot rise from the bed. But her vision, auditory conditions, voice and memory have not been damaged. Her husband Samraj is unemployed while her son Prasad is a house-keeping staff in a residential apartment.

Julie was a nurse at St Martha’s Hosiptal, and was working as a private nurse before falling ill. She was studying nursing is St Philomena’s Hospital, when Amitabh Bachchan was seriously injured while shooting for Coolie. “I attended to him then. I used to serve him apple juice,” she told MiD DAY. “There were many Malayali nuns working in the hospital. They made only appams. But Amitabh didn’t complain. He used to say “very nice” and eat it.”

She recalls him to be “very tall and very handsome.” She remembers to have seen many actors that time. “Shashi Kapoor and Rajnikanth had also visited him. They used to come only at night. All the actors would sit in the community hall and chat.” The crowd of fans was manageable she says. “When he was discharged, he did not go through the hospital gate. He took the back gate of the church and went away.”

Julie finds working in the hospital the most exciting. “I like to serve patients and old people, and I have been doing it. I don’t know why this has happened to me now.” Julie was an active lady and used to walk from Indiranagar to Koramangala. “To save money, I used to walk through the ring road. I want to walk again,” she said. “I will be able to walk no? I will become fine no?” she kept asking.

Julie was in Satya Sai Baba Hospital, and in NIMHANS before coming to Bowring. “The beds were full in NIMHANS, so they asked us to go to any government hospital and take the prescribed vials. So we came here,” said her husband Samraj.

The doctor taking care of her, Prof Shamaiyya said that the husband had not yet given him the case history from NIMHANS. “The vials may help her. They are not available in the hospital and have to be bought from outside. But they cannot afford it,” he said.

Julie is admitted in No 6, 4th floor, Medical Block, Bowring Hospital. She does not have a bank account. “The minimum amount required to open a bank account is Rs 500, which we cannot afford.”

After this article appeared in MiD DAY, help poured in for Julie. Other media houses too followed the story and money was collected to meet her medical expenses. After a year, we found that her son and husband had taken all the money. She was left ailing. Now, Julie is being looked after by Humanitarian Foundation, Bangalore.

When I met her first in Bowring Hospital, no one knew that she was Amitabh Bachchan’s nurse. The credit should go to Dr Nagendra, who was then a student of Bangalore Medical College and the founder of Orkut Hospital Community. He was interning at Bowring Hospital and was moved by Julie’s condition. He then contacted if seeking help. When we enquired about her, she told her that she had been Amitabh Bachchan’s nurse. She was very casual about it and didn’t expect any great help to come through it. The journalistic fiend in me knew that only if she was projected as Amitabh Bachchan’s nurse, help would come in faster.